College admissions from Potomac v Holton v Madeira?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It varies year yo year but I do keep an eye on Potomac vs Holton. Potomac is markedly stronger, controlling for female vs female

Wrong! Holton has much better results. Too many Potomac grads go to UVA -- they could have saved $$ + gone to any public h.s.

Do you have any clue how competitive UVA is for northern Virginia applicants?

I know about UVA, but it is not aspirational for parents paying huge bucks for private.

Umm, yes it is. I’m a Potomac parent and I know lots of families who have wanted UVA from the beginning. I would be thrilled if one of my kids ended up there.

Ditto. PP sounds like a moron. I pity her children. Another Potomac parent who would be thrilled with UVA.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It varies year yo year but I do keep an eye on Potomac vs Holton. Potomac is markedly stronger, controlling for female vs female

Wrong! Holton has much better results. Too many Potomac grads go to UVA -- they could have saved $$ + gone to any public h.s.

Do you have any clue how competitive UVA is for northern Virginia applicants?

I know about UVA, but it is not aspirational for parents paying huge bucks for private.

Umm, yes it is. I’m a Potomac parent and I know lots of families who have wanted UVA from the beginning. I would be thrilled if one of my kids ended up there.

Ditto. PP sounds like a moron. I pity her children. Another Potomac parent who would be thrilled with UVA.

+1

Aim higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is Madeira’s list. Literally no one should find this list unimpressive.


The University of Alabama (3)
American University (3)
Bates College (3)
Boston College (3)
Boston University (7)
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (4)
University of California, Berkeley (3)
University of California, Los Angeles (8)
University of California, Santa Barbara (3)
Carnegie Mellon University (5)
University of Chicago (6)
Claremont McKenna College (3)
Clemson University (3)
Colgate University (3)
College of Charleston (5)
Colorado College (3)
Cornell University (8)
Elon University (6)
University of Florida (4)
Fordham University (5)
George Washington University (3)
Georgetown University (4)
University of Georgia (3)
Georgia Institute of Technology (3)
Harvard University (3)
Johns Hopkins University (8)
Macalester College (3)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (4)
University of Miami (12)
New York University (15)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (4)
Northwestern University (6)
Oberlin College (3)
University of Pennsylvania (4)
Pennsylvania State University (3)
Sarah Lawrence College (3)
Savannah College of Art and Design (3)
Smith College (3)
University of Southern California (3)
Southern Methodist University (3)
University of St Andrews (3)
Syracuse University (4)
Texas Christian University (3)
Tufts University (3)
Tulane University (11)
Vanderbilt University (4)
University of Virginia (20)
Virginia Commonwealth University (5)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute (10)
Wake Forest University (7)
William and Mary (18)

20 to UVA and 18 to W&M -- very good schools, of course, but wouldn't those have been possible with a big box nova high school and a library card?

Depends on a lot of things. To name a couple:

1. The HS. Ironically, it is easier to get into UVA from a NOVA public HS that has fewer top kids applying. So if you want to live in Springfield or Manassas, maybe. But from Langley, McLean, Madison etc, it’s very very difficult, probably less likely than from a top private like Potomac or Madeira.
2. The kid. Who is to say that kid A would do the same in a big box public HS with 3000 kids that they do in a smaller environment. My DC doesn’t go to either Potomac or Madeira, but we intentionally chose a small school with all-honors and higher classes so as to remove any temptation to coast through.

Do you mind sharing which school is small with all-honors classes? That sounds like a nice choice.

SAAS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It varies year yo year but I do keep an eye on Potomac vs Holton. Potomac is markedly stronger, controlling for female vs female

Wrong! Holton has much better results. Too many Potomac grads go to UVA -- they could have saved $$ + gone to any public h.s.

Do you have any clue how competitive UVA is for northern Virginia applicants?

I know about UVA, but it is not aspirational for parents paying huge bucks for private.

True! They would rather pretend that it’s more prestigious to go to Tulane, Fordham, Tufts, etc — anything where they’re spending the money.

WTF is your problem PP? These are ALL great schools. Are you always this bitter? I feel sorry for you. My guess is that you are not very well liked by your family and “ friends.”

[Anonymous]

OP here. Has anyone had a _bad_ experience with the admissions process at Madeira?

DD is still leaning towards Madeira. We will go to campus visits and confirm before accepting, but it’s looking like that’s the choice.

[Anonymous]

If college admissions is top priority, Madeira is not the school for you. That sad i do thin their college admissions is improving (slightly). They are getting more girls into Ivies/MIT consistently. Also more girls getting into solid second tier (but not second rate) schools like Amherst or UChicago.

It doesn't have the depth of Potomac or Holton, but top performers from there will have their pick of schools

[Anonymous]

*college wise, but academically it's pretty rigorous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Has anyone had a _bad_ experience with the admissions process at Madeira?

DD is still leaning towards Madeira. We will go to campus visits and confirm before accepting, but it’s looking like that’s the choice.

Parent of a current freshman here. We have no regrets. It is a rigorous school (and elite enough to get T-10 admits for college). They may not get as many into HPYS as some of the other schools but they get enough.

It is also a school on the upswing with significant investments in STEM happening (new science block). The new HOS is very energetic and invested in bringing change. They just announced a new senior staff position to look at pedagogy as well. There is increased interest in private options in Northern Virginia and the candidate pool in the school’s catchment area is becoming stronger and stronger. I believe that the school will only be enhancing its reputation over the next few years.

OP - I can’t speak to the other schools but i can say that our DD has strongly benefited from being in a girls only school. So there’s that.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any insights into how the college admissions process works at these schools?

Would they affect the outcome significantly?

I would say Holton has the best college placement of the 3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any insights into how the college admissions process works at these schools?

Would they affect the outcome significantly?

I would say Holton has the best college placement of the 3

Here is Holton list. Looks similar to others.

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1633019261/holtonarms/yewb2qd4aq6pmkk2bofr/schoolprofilesy2022_updated.pdf

[Anonymous]

OP: I think it boils down to this. No one here has real experience with Madeira college placement regrets strong enough to make your daughter (or you to advise her) to run away. Lots of “one uppers” in the best college placement talk — but that’s not what you really care about. She is *in* happy and excited to be at Madeira. Cheers to her!!! Enjoy the visit and please share any news you get from the visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If college admissions is top priority, Madeira is not the school for you. That sad i do thin their college admissions is improving (slightly). They are getting more girls into Ivies/MIT consistently. Also more girls getting into solid second tier (but not second rate) schools like Amherst or UChicago.

It doesn't have the depth of Potomac or Holton, but top performers from there will have their pick of schools

Where do your tiers break so that UChicago is 2nd tier? It’s #6 in the country, FFS. Ahead of Penn and Dartmouth.

[Anonymous]

OP: It boils down to the fact that you can’t predict where your DD or entire class of kids will WANT to go to college. Madiera is a good school. If your daughter wants to go there let her. Otherwise, the decision becomes about you not her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Has anyone had a _bad_ experience with the admissions process at Madeira?

DD is still leaning towards Madeira. We will go to campus visits and confirm before accepting, but it’s looking like that’s the choice.

Parent of a current freshman here. We have no regrets. It is a rigorous school (and elite enough to get T-10 admits for college). They may not get as many into HPYS as some of the other schools but they get enough.

It is also a school on the upswing with significant investments in STEM happening (new science block). The new HOS is very energetic and invested in bringing change. They just announced a new senior staff position to look at pedagogy as well. There is increased interest in private options in Northern Virginia and the candidate pool in the school’s catchment area is becoming stronger and stronger. I believe that the school will only be enhancing its reputation over the next few years.

OP - I can’t speak to the other schools but i can say that our DD has strongly benefited from being in a girls only school. So there’s that.

Good luck!

As the parent of an admitted girl with decision day approaching, I can’t tell you how great this is to hear. Now if I can just get used to the idea of screaming "go snails" without snickering we will be all set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any insights into how the college admissions process works at these schools?

Would they affect the outcome significantly?

I would say Holton has the best college placement of the 3

Here is Holton list. Looks similar to others.

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1633019261/holtonarms/yewb2qd4aq6pmkk2bofr/schoolprofilesy2022_updated.pdf

If one school has 10 percent of graduating seniors attending top X colleges and another school has 20 percent, is their college placement "similar" to you? What if it's 10 percent vs. 30 percent?